November 16th, 2012 (“Fusion”)

Today we bring you an exclusive One Song Today interview with Boston-based DJ/Producer duo, Andrew Berman and Nicolas Russo-Larsson. Known as Shapes of Light, these two college students from Tufts have been steadily boosting their online presence by publishing eclectic bootlegs and original tracks. Recently, the two have released their debut Chroma EP on Lessthan3 Records which managed to climb into the top charts on Beatport. Peaking as the #9 overall release and the #4 and #2 in the Electro-House and Dubstep charts, respectively. Shapes of Light is quickly establishing themselves as contenders in the dance music scene with their dark and euphoric sounds.

Nicolas also happens to be a good friend of mine and was my housemate for 3 years in college. Here’s a quick interview on his recent success in a blossoming EDM scene.

OST: Many young electronic producers today get their start by tinkering around on software or by watching tutorial videos. What was your approach like?

Nicolas: As my coach in college always said, “Imitate, imitate, innovate,” and that’s the approach we’ve taken with our productions.

OST: What type of innovations?

Nico: Just learning different processing techniques. Different forms of synthesis, mixing techniques all in an effort to develop our own style — I think thats whats most important. You can copy to learn, but if you want to be an artist, you have to create something that’s unique to yourself. It’s like making a painting: it’s helpful to know the basic color theory and brush strokes. From there you can create a style that comes naturally to you.

OST: What are the benefits to working with someone else while producing?

Nico: You have someone to bounce ideas off of. I think when you have two people excited about an idea its reassuring. I think you have opportunity to look at things in different ways and add new elements to a song. It allows us to fuse our two styles and thought processes, which allows us to take our music to the next level.

OST: Tell me some aspirations for Shapes of Light in 2013:

Nico: We definitely would like to have a release on a major imprint label. Additionally we’d like to start playing shows around the country and hopefully some more festivals during this next festival season. Long story short, to get our name out there.

OST: What does “Fusion” showcase about Shapes of Light?

Nico: I think “Fusion” is a great track to describe what Shapes of Light is: big melodic breaks, epic drum lines, and creative bassy drops. The whole Chroma EP was a big step forward for us in production, but we’ll definitely continue to evolve musically. It’s a package I am really proud of as an artist.